Hello guys. I'm a new member to this forum, having only discovered this site a few days ago, but I can already tell I have found a nice community with my kinda people. I have been modding and building rep watches (mostly vintage Rolex homages) for a year or so now, and have been active on all the rep watch forums, but i think i will have better luck on this site.....last month, I had the chance to buy a vintage Doxa Sub 300 case, and i am now trying to aquire all the parts i will need to build my own "franken" Sub 300. I have been a huge Doxa guy since my dad turned me onto all his & my fav. author's (Clive Cussler, of course) novels, and Dirk Pitt's trusty Doxa made it my grail watch. I got my 1st Doxa (pre-owned Sub 1000t Pro from 2009) about 2 years ago, and i love it completely, and its become my daily wearer, but i always lusted after the vintage Subs of the '60s & '70s, so here I am......gathering the parts to build my own!

My case set is an early Sub 300 with only the case and case-back, no bezel assembly or movement etc etc etc. I am hoping to get ya'lls advice on sourcing the remaining pieces, and any advice and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

My first thought is to try to find a used Zeno Army Diver watch ( http://www.doxa300t.com/zeno/zeno.htm) and tear it apart and use the bezel assembly, movement, and dial (refinished and modded, of course). I am obviously, not trying to build a show-piece or 100% authentic to original Sub300, but rather a solid, reliable watch that I can wear and use every day.
Has this been attempted before? And if so, what were the results? Difficulty?
Another "donor" watch I am considering is the Doxa US Divers-Aqua Lung (http://m.ebay.com/itm/162166400597?_mwBanner=), but I think these are gonna be too rare & expensive to use as I am trying to keep my build budget under $1000-ish. Any thoughts on thaf???

Like I said, I'm just getting started on this project, so most of the build is in the planning stage, but I think I will be able to make it work one way or another.......any help would be sweet!

Thanks for reading this giant 1st post!

Tl;dr.........can I use the parts from a Zeno Army Divers watch on a vintage Doxa Sub300 Franken build?

Understood. The topic of replicas/homages really draws a line in the sand for most people. I, myself, was very much anti-rep until prob 2-3 years ago, when a buddy of mine pointed me in the direction of some really high quality modded reps of vintage Rolexes. Suddenly I found a hobby (modding and building watches), that really appealled to me, but I was always after a Doxa Sub, and nobody on the face of the earth reps Doxas! So I bought my gen Sub1000t and built my Rolex homage pieces that were as close as 1:1 gen as I am able to make them.....I mainly build just for me and my family/friends, not as a business venture to try to make $$$. The ref # Rolexes I build are the tip-top ultra valuable/rare/expensive, watches I would never be able to afford if they were genuine. But I dont try to cheat anyone or fool somebody into buying a rep that I am passing off as gen......never. That's just not in me, but now I feel like I have the best of both worlds. But I can def understand and relate to anybody disagreeing with or frowning upon the whole rep universe on principle, so, live and let live. To each, his own.

OP you may be better served going down the restoration route than by pairing a case that you like with other manufacturers parts. Restoration skill will ultimately be more useful than skill at imitation.
Alternately, change up the dial/hands on a Seiko, etc. (that fits your style) to give a nod to the Rolex model, etc. that you really like. That comes across as respect to your Grail, rather than faking your Grail.

I guess I don't see this as a "rep" because of the situation, hop. Old rare parts and you want to fit it out to make it useable. The hard part, OP, is that the "no T" is unique and hard to find parts for. The bezel is low and wide and a different diameter from the T, let alone the 200/Zeno case. I suppose you could epoxy it for looks, but it would never actually mate up. Dial is also smaller than any of the others.

TBH, you might be better off cash wise selling your parts to a collector for spares. I know a couple guys who probably would. PM me directly is you have any questions.

steve3sc wrote:Understood. The topic of replicas/homages really draws a line in the sand for most people. I, myself, was very much anti-rep until prob 2-3 years ago, when a buddy of mine pointed me in the direction of some really high quality modded reps of vintage Rolexes. Suddenly I found a hobby (modding and building watches), that really appealled to me, but I was always after a Doxa Sub, and nobody on the face of the earth reps Doxas! So I bought my gen Sub1000t and built my Rolex homage pieces that were as close as 1:1 gen as I am able to make them.....I mainly build just for me and my family/friends, not as a business venture to try to make $$$. The ref # Rolexes I build are the tip-top ultra valuable/rare/expensive, watches I would never be able to afford if they were genuine. But I dont try to cheat anyone or fool somebody into buying a rep that I am passing off as gen......never. That's just not in me, but now I feel like I have the best of both worlds. But I can def understand and relate to anybody disagreeing with or frowning upon the whole rep universe on principle, so, live and let live. To each, his own.

I'm okay with you trying to build a Doxa from parts, as long as it would be disclosed upon sale.

What I have an issue with is that you and your buddy buy fake watches. It is illegal and poser-like. Why not just buy a genuine watch that you can actually afford?

steve3sc wrote:Understood. The topic of replicas/homages really draws a line in the sand for most people. I, myself, was very much anti-rep until prob 2-3 years ago, when a buddy of mine pointed me in the direction of some really high quality modded reps of vintage Rolexes.

Fake watches suck ass and when you support the people who make them, you help to facilitate the creation of watches that assholes use to defraud other watch guys.

Fuck your "reps" and get into cheap Seikos if that's all you can afford.

Please, allow me to first apologize if I offended anyone. That was not my intention. Like it says at the top of the page, I was simply looking for some wisdom from any forum members who might have some actual experience with building a vintage Doxa Sub, and maybe a lead or two on where I might find some parts for that build. In order to introduce myself as a new forum member, I thought it best to give a little background info on myself, and how I happened to find this website and my reasons for joining and posting.... just so you guys would know what i am into and perhaps judge my level of horological experience, modding skill, and history of involvement in our hobby/industry and community, however brief. I didn't want to just throw out my 1st post with a bland, semi-anonymous request for parts and build tips, without some background info on why I wanted those things.

I have a few watches that are discussed on this forum, and that is why I joined this forum......to discuss those watches, and try to get some help with parts and tips while I build my vintage Sub.

What I don't understand is the reaction I have gotten from a few of the forum members....
Apparently, some guys are UBER AGRO against replica/homage watches. I already stated that I understand this point of view, but apparently I didn't understand the full depth of the HATRED of those kinds of watches. Moreover, I didn't know that the mere mention, much less ownership (gasp!), of those types of watches is grounds for burning at the stake!
Better still is the notion that you can make some kind of judgement about a man's character by knowing what watch he owns.......

While I haven't gotten much help with my Doxa build, I have certainly learned much from my first post!

Honestly, I would really just rather know if anybody here has ever built/rebuilt a vintage Doxa Sub 300 (t, or no) themselves.........not paid somebody else to do it, or bought one already done. If there's anyone who has done that, with their own hands, i would love a chance to bounce some ideas off you regarding the Sub300 build i am planning.

And maybe anyone else who wants to talk about what they think of me (I'm a horrible person), or replica/homage watches (they are horrible watches), or anything else (its all horrible, literally everything in existance), can find the appropriate section of the forum for their vitriol.

Honestly you should research the rules in any forum you are trying to participate in or research some of the post to see what they are about. We do NOT tolerate any replica's discussions no matter what.

Replica Rolex watches are horrible and illegal...how is that hard to understand. By owning one, you are openly accepting this illegal behavior and helping those sellers rip off the IP of reputable brands. Like I said, you should buy what you can afford and enjoy it. If you can afford a genuine watch and choose to buy the fake anyways...that is even worse.

It doesn't sound as if the OP has learned anything from this thread, nor does it appear he gives a shit.

OP: you have explained the reasons why you make "replica" (illegal copies) of Rolex watches, but we don't like folks who do that - and we don't engage in discussion of "reps".

Your desire to source Doxa parts for your "Sub 300 build" appears to be because you can't source "rep" parts. Either way, our main Doxa fan has already chimed in and didn't have anything for you, so there's that.

You're a persistent fucker, I'll give you that. Regardless of your discussion of "reps" or not, you trade in those so it does say something about you. Not every forum is for every person, this one doesn't appear to be for you. I'll express my opinion right here, thank you very much.

steve3sc wrote:
And maybe anyone else who wants to talk about what they think of me (I'm a horrible person), or replica/homage watches (they are horrible watches), or anything else (its all horrible, literally everything in existance), can find the appropriate section of the forum for their vitriol.

Hey FNG - we decide what is appropriate. I don't know about your "existance", but you should probably head back to the "rep" forum.